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StudioKitchen (2008-)

GordonCooks

By GordonCooks
in Pennsylvania: Dining

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tbabes

tbabes

Posted
Posted
I wonder if perhaps he could just do the dinner on one night, e.g. Friday?  I am sure some attendees would be willing to move their reservation back (or forward) a day.  But that large party of 10 (well actually two parties of five that wanted to be one party of 10) that ruined everything needs to be publicly flogged!

Now that I have some time on my hands for Friday night, I think my wife and I will go check out the "new" Marigold Kitchen.

I offered to switch to Saturday, but haven't heard back. I was driving down from Connecticut and had already paid for my room for Friday (here's the drawback of using Priceline). Would still do either night.

If the dinners are absolutely DOA, I'd consider a drive down for an alternative plan, since I have the room. FWIW.

Did you hear anything after Shola's initial email on Thursday morning?

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fchrisgrimm

fchrisgrimm

Posted
Posted
Did you hear anything after Shola's initial email on Thursday morning?

Not a word - somebody who posts on another board said that Shola responded and said that he would decide last night and let everyone know. It's weird that he has kept the meal and the links to reservations up on the SK site throughout. And it looks like one could purchase (I went as far as I could without hitting the Paypal purchase button just to see if there would be a notice that it was either sold out or closed. Who knows until we hear?

I suspect he won't change his mind - because not everyone will be flexible with the timing. It would be nice to hear this morning. Maybe more people have tried to sign-up, too?

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fchrisgrimm

fchrisgrimm

Posted
Posted

OK, so I think I just grabbed the one remaining seat for the corn dinner. Yay? This is BYOW, correct? Any recs on what I should consider bringing to add to the table?

Yes, BYOB. Best bet... Shola will send an e-mail to the whole group with details. Just do a reply-all and open up the wine topic (it's what I've done with these). Folks will pretty actively reply with what they are thinking of bringing. Then you'll have a nice variety. (That said, if any dinner screamed oak-y Chard, it's a corn dinner.)

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philadining

philadining

Posted
Posted

If you have the opportunity to trade some emails with the other attendees, I highly recommend doing at least a little coordinating, so you don't end up with 12 bottles of the same wine... I'm not sure you need to get super hung-up on making perfect matches, that's always a challenge with Shola's food! But if you can cover a range so you have some options to play with, everyone will be happier.

And yes, Chardonnays will probably work well with a few of those courses, German whites, like Rieslings and Gewurtzes will go nicely early in that menu too, like with the soup and/or the uni. Head more toward Chardonnay with the polenta and the scallops. Pinot Noir, especially French Burgundies are pretty versatile for later on, maybe a Syrah/Shiraz with the lamb, something sweet for the last couple courses.

Looks like a great menu, wish I could make it. Please report back!

"Philadelphia’s premier soup dumpling blogger" - Foobooz

philadining.com

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Mummer

Mummer

Posted
Posted

... German whites, like Rieslings and Gewurtzes will go nicely early in that menu too, like with the soup and/or the uni.

Funny, when I stopped by the monopoly palace this afternoon, Riesling was on my mind. I found a Dr. Konstantin one, having shared one with Phil at another Shola dinner. I also grabbed a domestic Gewurtz.

I'm far from a wine guy, so reading the above post when I got home cracked me up.

Charlie, the Main Line Mummer

We must eat; we should eat well.

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sockii

sockii

Posted
Posted

Have to admit I'm feeling way out of my league. Really looking forward to the dinner but I feel like a heel that I can't afford to bring a bottle of wine comparable to what other folks are planning (hey, I'm almost literally a starving artist and this is my I-finally-got-out-of-major-debt-celebration meal). I tend to drink in the $10-20 range and most of my better bottles are heavier Italian stuff bought by the S.O. in Florence a couple years back, which sadly I don't think will go with the meal...

sockii

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| South Jersey Foodie |

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Mummer

Mummer

Posted
Posted

It's Shola's job for the food to be "out of [the] league." He's not let me down.

The wine, Sockii, isn't an issue. Some folks have fancy bottles to bring; that's great. Many of us don't. But Shola's dinners have always been about his food and his generous sharing about prep and sourcing. We could drink water and not lose a beat.

Bring something wet. Either we'll have it or you'll take it home. Nobody cares.

I don't even know where the new place is at this point. I'm sure it will work out.

Charlie, the Main Line Mummer

We must eat; we should eat well.

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percyn

percyn

Posted
Posted

Last night's dinner was fabulous !! A marathon 10 courses celebrating corn.

A few of us took pics, including Shola, which I am sure will be on his blog soon, but I will post the ones I have before heading out for the weekend.

There were some last minute changes to the menu and I can't seem to find my copy, so will copy the menu from the blog and update it from memory:

Chilled Corn Soup . Lemongrass . Ruby Grapefruit . Peeky Toe Crab . Kaffir Lime Gelee - The Kaffir lime gelee was surprisingly delicate and not as overpowering as I had imagined.

3911904325_e060261667_b.jpg

Silver Queen Ice Cream . Sake Cured Trout Roe . Corn Shortbread . Sorrel - Great combination of creamy, slightly sweet corn ice cream, the saline saltiness of the trout roe. The dish would reach even greater heights by the addition of a crunchy textural element.

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Scrambled Corn . Santa Barbara Uni . Spicy Yuzu(?) - Luxurious textures and flavors with a kick at the end.

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Corn Juice Polenta . Ginger . Truffle . Castelmagno Cheese - Another small, yet flavor packed dish. Amazing how the ginger just accentuates the corn flavor.

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Scallop . Marcona Almond . Corn-Miso . Smoked Hijiki - This was a bowl full of umami. Delicate sweetness of the scallop and corn-miso and the sea essence from the Hijiki or wild Japanese sea vegetable.

3912687762_5a988e1767_b.jpg

King Salmon . Matsukate . Onion Sprouts - Super fresh salmon quickly seared to be rare in the middle, over Matsutake mushrooms in a broth with a lot of depth.

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Cavatelli . Corn Carbonara . Meadow Run Egg . Grated Benton's Ham (and bacon?) - Scallion(?) Cavatelli, just formed creamy egg yolk to cut the smokiness of the Benton's ham and bacon. My palate would have preferred for the yolk to be just a tad more runny - I love runny yolks.

3912686038_1fb65ea4df_b.jpg

Grass Fed Lamb . Shisito-Corn Relish . Yellow Watermelon . Yuzu Kosho - Lamb from D'artagnan, compressed yellow watermelon which had almost a pickled flavor. I am not a fan of watermelon, but I loved this.

3912686518_ff210704b9_b.jpg

Epoisses-Corn "Yoghurt" . Caramel Corn . Corn Shoots - Amazing flavor combination of funky cheese with soothing corn yoghurt and the crunch from the corn pops.

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Corn Bread "Perdu" . Sweet Corn Sorbet . Chocolate . Orange Liquid + Crispy - After this elaborate meal, I was glad to see a light dessert and a super refreshing corn sorbet, which embodied the taste of raw corn. The flavor and textures of this dish made it one of the highlights of the evening.

3912801882_a36d45102b_o.jpg

Unfortunately, I was not taking taking wine notes and there was a lot of wine which was enjoyed by all, so I hope my fellow dining companions comment on the wines we consumed.

eGullet Foodblog #1, Foodblog #2

TravelBlog - Bombay, Chicago, Stockholm & Paris.

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  • 2 weeks later...
tbabes

tbabes

Posted
Posted

Beautiful pictures Percy; thanks for posting. I thought every single course was fantastic, but if forced to choose, my favorites would be:

Silver Queen Ice Cream . Sake Cured Trout Roe . Corn Shortbread . Sorrel

Scrambled Corn . Santa Barbara Uni

Corn Juice Polenta . Ginger . Truffle . Castelmagno Cheese

Cavatelli . Corn Carbonara . Meadow Run Egg . Grated Benton's Ham

I took wine notes on the back of my menu, but clearly had one wine too many, as I left my menu on the table. From memory, the 2005 Kongsgaard Chardonnay was an excellent match with many of the courses, and quite the contrast to the 1999 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne. The 1995 Chateau L'Evangile is drinking wonderfully at present, but I think (hope) it will continue to improve for another few years. The 1988 Chateau Rabaud-Promis is an excellent expression of Sauternes, and is fully mature -- a nice pairing with the cheese and dessert courses.

I see Shola has set up a "Breakfast as Dinner" event for tomorrow night; the menu is posted on his blog. I will be there.

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dagordon

dagordon

Posted
Posted (edited)

According to the site (upper right), the Breakfast as Dinner dinner was rescheduled for the 16th, so unless two distinct dinners were both rescheduled for that night, I think it's safe to say that this weekend's dinners are still on.

Edited by dagordon (log)
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Spinner

Spinner

Posted
Posted (edited)

I saw that and that is all well and good but Im still wondering where the menu for tomorrow is. It is usually posted on the Monday before the event on Shola's blog and I don't see it as of now.

Edited by Spinner (log)
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dagordon

dagordon

Posted
Posted

I saw that and that is all well and good but Im still wondering where the menu for tomorrow is. It is usually posted on the Monday before the event on Shola's blog and I don't see it as of now.

I don't know about other events that Shola has done, but I do know that for the Ideas in Food collaboration dinners they don't finalize the menu until very shortly before the dinners -- that is, there's simply no way that the menu was anywhere close to being fully planned out on Monday. For one thing, a good portion of the food is market-driven, based on what's good and available in the days right before the dinners. But also, part of the fun of these dinners is Alex and Aki and Shola experimenting with new techniques and preparations, and my impression is that dishes can get reconceptualized many times up until pretty much the last minute.

Enjoy the surprise! (And as far as wine pairings, I can tell you that a menu wouldn't help much, given that it's almost always very difficult to predict how one of their dishes will taste from a description. As I think they've said about past collaboration dinners, bring what you like to drink.)

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Spinner

Spinner

Posted
Posted (edited)

Well, that's some good info then. If I had been told that instead of not having emails answered I would not worry as much as I have.

Understand, I am traveling in excess of 2 hours for this meal with someone who is traveling 1 hour to get to me..so we can meet someone in PA that is traveling there to meet us. And I took off work. Lots of logistics I have to plan for :)

So Im not trying to be a pain in the ass..just trying to figure out what's going on.

Edited by Spinner (log)
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